Base station and terminal

ABSTRACT

A base station is capable of efficiently notifying a terminal of control information. The base station communicates with the terminal using a sub-frame including a plurality of resource block pairs. The base station sets a second control channel region in the terminal through RRC signaling that is higher-layer control information, the second control channel region being a region set differently from a first control channel region in which a first control channel is to be arranged. The base station transmits control information for the terminal by mapping the control information to a second control channel that is to be arranged in the second control channel region. The first control channel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to the base station, and the second control channel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to the terminal in units of the resource block pairs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a base station, a terminal, acommunication system, a communication method, and an integrated circuit.

BACKGROUND ART

In radio communication systems such as 3GPP (Third GenerationPartnership Project) WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), LTE(Long Term Evolution), and LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), and IEEE (The Instituteof Electrical and Electronics engineers) Wireless LAN and WiMAX(Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) communication systems,a base station (cell, transmit station, transmitter, eNodeB) and aterminal (mobile terminal, receive station, mobile station, receiver, UE(User Equipment)) each include a plurality of transmit/receive antennas,and employ MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) technology to spatiallymultiplex data signals to realize high-speed data communication.

In these radio communication systems, in order to realize datacommunication between a base station and a terminal, it is necessary forthe base station to perform various kinds of control for the terminal.To do this, the base station notifies the terminal of controlinformation by using certain resources to perform data communication inthe downlink and uplink. For example, the base station notifies theterminal of information on the allocation of resources, information onthe modulation and coding of data signals,number-of-spatial-multiplexing-layers information on data signals,transmit power control information, and so forth to implement datasignals. Transmission of such control information is realized using themethod described in NPL 1.

Communication methods based on MIMO technology in the downlink areimplemented using various methods such as a multi-user MIMO scheme inwhich the same resources are allocated to different terminals, and aCoMP (Cooperative Multipoint) scheme in which a plurality of basestations coordinate with each other to perform data communication.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the multi-userMIMO scheme is implemented. In FIG. 14, a base station 1401 performsdata communication with a terminal 1402 via a downlink 1404, andperforms data communication with a terminal 1403 via a downlink 1405. Inthis case, the terminal 1402 and the terminal 1403 perform multi-userMIMO-based data communication. The downlink 1404 and the downlink 1405use the same resources in the frequency direction and the timedirection. Further, the downlink 1404 and the downlink 1405 each controlbeams using a precoding technique and so forth to mutually maintainorthogonality or reduce co-channel interference. Accordingly, the basestation 1401 can realize data communication with the terminal 1402 andthe terminal 1403 using the same resources.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the CoMP scheme isimplemented. In FIG. 15, the establishment of a radio communicationsystem having a heterogeneous network configuration using a macro basestation 1501 with a broad coverage and a RRH (Remote Radio Head) 1502with a narrower coverage than this macro base station is illustrated.Now, consideration is given of the case where the coverage of the macrobase station 1501 includes part or all of the coverage of the RRH 1502.In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the macro base station 1501 andthe RRH 1502 establish a heterogeneous network configuration, andcoordinate with each other to perform data communication with a terminal1504 via a downlink 1505 and a downlink 1506, respectively. The macrobase station 1501 is connected to the RRH 1502 via a line 1503, and cantransmit and receive a control signal and/or a data signal to and fromthe RRH 1502. The line 1503 may be implemented using a wired line suchas a fiber optic line or a wireless line that is based on relaytechnology. In this case, the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502use frequencies (resources) some or all of which are identical, therebyimproving the total frequency utilization efficiency (transmissioncapacity) within a coverage area established by the macro base station1501.

The terminal 1504 can perform single-cell communication with the macrobase station 1501 or the RRH 1502 while located near the macro basestation 1501 or the RRH 1502. While located near the edge (cell edge) ofthe coverage established by the RRH 1502, the terminal 1504 needs totake measures against co-channel interference from the macro basestation 1501. There has been proposed a method for reducing orsuppressing interference with the terminal 1504 in the cell-edge area byusing the CoMP scheme in which neighboring base stations coordinate witheach other for multi-cell communication (cooperative communication)between the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502. As the CoMPscheme, for example, the method described in NPL 2 has been proposed.

CITATION LIST Non Patent Literature

NPL 1: 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification GroupRadio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA); Physical layer procedures (Release 10), March 2011, 3GPP TS36.212 V10.1.0 (2011-03).

NPL 2: 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification GroupRadio Access Network; Further Advancements for E-UTRA Physical LayerAspects (Release 9), March 2010, 3GPP TR 36.814 V9.0.0 (2010-03).

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In a radio communication system capable of MIMO communication based on ascheme such as the multi-user MIMO scheme or the CoMP scheme, however,due to the improvement in transmission capacity achievable with one basestation, the number of terminals that can be accommodated alsoincreases. For this reason, in a case where a base station notifiesterminals of control information using conventional resources, resourcesallocated to the control information may be insufficient. In this case,it is difficult for the base station to efficiently allocate data toterminals, which may hinder the improvement of transmission efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems,and it is an object of the present invention to provide a base station,a terminal, a communication system, a communication method, and anintegrated circuit that allow the base station to efficiently notify theterminal of control information in a radio communication system in whichthe base station and the terminal communicate with each other.

Solution to Problem

(1) According to an aspect of the present invention, a base stationcommunicates with a terminal using a sub-frame including a plurality ofresource block pairs. The base station sets a second control channelregion in the terminal through RRC signaling that is higher-layercontrol information, the second control channel region being a regionset differently from a first control channel region in which a firstcontrol channel is to be arranged. The base station transmits controlinformation for the terminal by mapping the control information to asecond control channel that is to be arranged in the second controlchannel region. The first control channel region is set in the sub-frameto be specific to the base station, and the second control channelregion is set in the sub-frame to be specific to the terminal in unitsof the resource block pairs.

(2) Preferably, the sub-frame includes a plurality of OFDM symbols. Thefirst control channel region is set as a region extending over OFDMsymbols up to a certain number of OFDM symbols from the top OFDM symbolin the sub-frame through a PCFICH that is to be arranged in a certainresource. The second control channel region is set as a region extendingover OFDM symbols which start with the last one of the certain number ofOFDM symbols, which serves as a start position, up to the last OFDMsymbol in the sub-frame.

(3) Preferably, the start position is designated for the terminalthrough the RRC signaling.

(4) Preferably, the start position is designated for the terminalthrough the PCFICH.

(5) Preferably, a resource block pair in which the second controlchannel is to be arranged is different from a resource block pair inwhich a shared channel through which information data for the terminalcan be transmitted is to be arranged.

(6) Preferably, in a case where the base station does not set the secondcontrol channel region in the terminal through the RRC signaling, thebase station transmits the control information for the terminal bymapping the control information to the first control channel. In a casewhere the base station sets the second control channel region in theterminal through the RRC signaling, the base station transmits thecontrol information for the terminal by mapping the control informationto the first control channel or the second control channel.

(7) Preferably, in a case where the base station does not set the secondcontrol channel region in the terminal through the RRC signaling, thebase station transmits the control information for the terminal bymapping the control information to the first control channel. In a casewhere the base station sets the second control channel region in theterminal through the RRC signaling, the base station transmits thecontrol information for the terminal by mapping the control informationto the second control channel.

(8) According to another aspect of the present invention, a terminalcommunicates with a base station using a sub-frame including a pluralityof resource block pairs. A second control channel region that is aregion set differently from a first control channel region in which afirst control channel is to be arranged is set by the base stationthrough RRC signaling that is higher-layer control information. Theterminal searches for a second control channel that is to be arranged inthe second control channel region, to which control information for theterminal is mapped. The first control channel region is set in thesub-frame to be specific to the base station, and the second controlchannel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to the terminal inunits of the resource block pairs.

(9) Preferably, the sub-frame includes a plurality of OFDM symbols. Thefirst control channel region is set as a region extending over OFDMsymbols up to a certain number of OFDM symbols from the top OFDM symbolin the sub-frame through a PCFICH that is to be arranged in a certainresource. The second control channel region is set as a region extendingover OFDM symbols which start with the last one of the certain number ofOFDM symbols, which serves as a start position, up to the last OFDMsymbol in the sub-frame.

(10) Preferably, the start position is designated for the terminalthrough the RRC signaling.

(11) Preferably, the start position is designated for the terminalthrough the PCFICH.

(12) Preferably, a resource block pair in which the second controlchannel is to be arranged is different from a resource block pair inwhich a shared channel through which information data for the terminalcan be transmitted is to be arranged.

(13) Preferably, in a case where the terminal is not set with the secondcontrol channel region by the base station through the RRC signaling,the terminal searches for the first control channel, to which thecontrol information for the terminal is mapped. In a case where theterminal is set with the second control channel region by the basestation through the RRC signaling, the terminal searches for the firstcontrol channel and the second control channel, to which the controlinformation for the terminal is mapped. The first control channel issearched for in the first control channel region, and the second controlchannel is searched for in the second control channel region.

(14) Preferably, in a case where the terminal is not set with the secondcontrol channel region by the base station through the RRC signaling,the terminal searches the first control channel region for the firstcontrol channel, to which the control information for the terminal ismapped. In a case where the terminal is set with the second controlchannel region by the base station through the RRC signaling, theterminal searches the second control channel region for the secondcontrol channel, to which the control information for the terminal ismapped.

(15) According to still another aspect of the present invention, in acommunications system, a base station and a terminal communicate witheach other using a sub-frame including a plurality of resource blockpairs. The base station sets a second control channel region in theterminal through RRC signaling that is higher-layer control information,the second control channel region being a region set differently from afirst control channel region in which a first control channel is to bearranged. The base station transmits control information for theterminal by mapping the control information to a second control channelthat is to be arranged in the second control channel region. Theterminal is set with the second control channel region by the basestation through the RRC signaling. The terminal searches for the secondcontrol channel. The first control channel region is set in thesub-frame to be specific to the base station, and the second controlchannel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to the terminal inunits of the resource block pairs.

(16) According to still another aspect of the present invention, acommunications method is executed by a base station that communicateswith a terminal using a sub-frame including a plurality of resourceblock pairs. The communications method includes a step of setting asecond control channel region in the terminal through RRC signaling thatis higher-layer control information, the second control channel regionbeing a region set differently from a first control channel region inwhich a first control channel is to be arranged; and a step oftransmitting control information for the terminal by mapping the controlinformation to a second control channel that is to be arranged in thesecond control channel region. The first control channel region is setin the sub-frame to be specific to the base station, and the secondcontrol channel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to theterminal in units of the resource block pairs.

(17) According to still another aspect of the present invention, acommunications method is executed by a terminal that communicates with abase station using a sub-frame including a plurality of resource blockpairs. The communications method includes a step of being set with asecond control channel region by the base station through RRC signalingthat is higher-layer control information, the second control channelregion being a region set differently from a first control channelregion in which a first control channel is to be arranged; and a step ofsearching for a second control channel that is to be arranged in thesecond control channel region, to which control information for theterminal is mapped. The first control channel region is set in thesub-frame to be specific to the base station, and the second controlchannel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to the terminal inunits of the resource block pairs.

(18) According to still another aspect of the present invention, anintegrated circuit is implemented by a base station that communicateswith a terminal using a sub-frame including a plurality of resourceblock pairs. The integrated circuit includes a function of setting asecond control channel region in the terminal through RRC signaling thatis higher-layer control information, the second control channel regionbeing a region set differently from a first control channel region inwhich a first control channel is to be arranged; and a function oftransmitting control information for the terminal by mapping the controlinformation to a second control channel that is to be arranged in thesecond control channel region. The first control channel region is setin the sub-frame to be specific to the base station, and the secondcontrol channel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific to theterminal in units of the resource block pairs.

(19) According to still another aspect of the present invention, anintegrated circuit is implemented by a terminal that communicates with abase station using a sub-frame including a plurality of resource blockpairs. The integrated circuit includes a function of being set with asecond control channel region by the base station through RRC signalingthat is higher-layer control information, the second control channelregion being a region set differently from a first control channelregion in which a first control channel is to be arranged; and afunction of searching for a second control channel that is to bearranged in the second control channel region, to which controlinformation for the terminal is mapped. The first control channel regionis set in the sub-frame to be specific to the base station, and thesecond control channel region is set in the sub-frame to be specific tothe terminal in units of the resource block pairs.

According to this invention, in a radio communication system in which abase station and a terminal communicate with each other, the basestation can efficiently notify the terminal of control information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system forperforming data transmission according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of abase station 101 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of aterminal 102 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of one resource block pairthat the base station 101 maps.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of channels that the basestation 101 maps.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the flow for setting terminal-specificsetting information for radio resources.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the terminal-specificsetting information for radio resources.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of terminal-specific settinginformation on a second control channel.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the flow for a process for receiving acontrol channel and a data channel at the terminal 102.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency arrangementfor cells with carrier aggregation according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the multi-userMIMO scheme is implemented.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the CoMP scheme isimplemented.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[First Embodiment]

A first embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinafter. A communication system according to this first embodimentincludes a base station (transmitter, cell, transmission point, set oftransmit antennas, set of transmit antenna ports, component carrier,eNodeB) and a terminal (terminal device, mobile terminal, receptionpoint, receiving terminal, receiver, set of receive antennas, set ofreceive antenna ports, UE).

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system forperforming data transmission according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 1, a base station 101 transmits controlinformation and information data to a terminal 102 via a downlink 103 inorder to perform data communication with the terminal 102.

The control information is subjected to an error detection codingprocess and so forth, and is then mapped to a control channel. Thecontrol channel subjected to an error correction coding process and amodulation process is transmitted and received via a first controlchannel (first physical control channel) region or a second controlchannel (second physical control channel) region different from thefirst control channel region. The term physical control channel, as usedherein, is a kind of physical channel and refers to a control channeldefined in a physical frame.

In terms of a point of view, the first control channel is a physicalcontrol channel that uses the same transmit port (antenna port) as thatfor a cell-specific reference signal. The second control channel is aphysical control channel that uses the same transmit port as that for aterminal-specific reference signal. The terminal 102 demodulates thefirst control channel using the cell-specific reference signal, anddemodulates the second control channel using the terminal-specificreference signal. The cell-specific reference signal is a referencesignal common to all the terminals within a cell, and is a referencesignal usable by any terminal because it is included in substantiallyall the resources. Accordingly, the first control channel can bedemodulated by any terminal. In contrast, the terminal-specificreference signal is a reference signal that is included only in anallocated resource, and can be subjected to an adaptive beamformingprocess in a manner similar to that for data. Accordingly, adaptivebeamforming gains can be obtained on the second control channel.

In terms of a different point of view, the control channel (firstcontrol channel) to be mapped to the first control channel region is aphysical control channel over OFDM symbols (symbols) located in a frontpart of a physical sub-frame, and may be arranged over an entire systembandwidth (component carrier (CC)) in these OFDM symbols. The controlchannel (second control channel) to be mapped to the second controlchannel region is a physical control channel over OFDM symbols locatedafter the first control channel in the physical sub-frame, and may bearranged in part of the system bandwidth over these OFDM symbols. Sincethe first control channel is arranged over OFDM symbols dedicated to acontrol channel which are located in a front part of a physicalsub-frame, the terminal 102 can receive and demodulate the first controlchannel prior to rear OFDM symbols used for a physical data channel. Thefirst control channel can also be received by a terminal that monitorsonly OFDM symbols dedicated to a control channel. Since the firstcontrol channel can be spread out over an entire CC, it is possible torandomize inter-cell interference. Furthermore, the first controlchannel region is a region set specific to the base station 101, and isa region common to all the terminals connected to the base station 101.In contrast, the second control channel is arranged over rear OFDMsymbols used for a shared channel (physical data channel) whichterminals under communication normally receive. In addition, frequencydivision multiplexing allows second control channels or a second controlchannel and a physical data channel to be orthogonally multiplexed(multiplexed without interference). Furthermore, the second controlchannel region is a region set specific to the terminal 102, and is aregion set for each of the terminals connected to the base station 101.The first control channel region and the second control channel regionare arranged in the same physical sub-frame. An OFDM symbol is the unitof mapping the bits of each channel in the time direction.

In terms of a still different point of view, the first control channelis a cell-specific physical control channel, and is a physical channelwhich both a terminal in the idle state and a terminal in the connectedstate can acquire. The second control channel is a terminal-specificphysical control channel, and is a physical channel which only aterminal in the connected state can acquire. The term idle state refersto a state where data is not immediately transmitted or received, suchas a state where a base station does not accumulate RRC (Radio ResourceControl) information (RRC_IDLE state) or a state where a mobile stationis performing discontinuous reception (DRX). The term connected state,in contrast, refers to a state where data is ready to be immediatelytransmitted or received, such as a state where a terminal holds networkinformation (RRC_CONNECTED state) or a state where a mobile station isnot performing discontinuous reception (DRX). The first control channelis a channel which a terminal can receive without depending onterminal-specific RRC signaling. The second control channel is a channelset using terminal-specific RRC signaling, and is a channel which aterminal can receive using terminal-specific RRC signaling. That is, thefirst control channel is a channel which any terminal can receive withpre-limited settings, and the second control channel is a channel forwhich terminal-specific settings can be easily changed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of thebase station 101 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 2, the base station 101 includes a higher layer 201,a data channel generation unit 202, a terminal-specific reference signalmultiplexing unit 203, a precoding unit 204, a cell-specific referencesignal multiplexing unit 205, a transmit signal generation unit 206, anda transmission unit 207.

The higher layer 201 generates information data for the terminal 102,and outputs the generated information data to the data channelgeneration unit 202.

The data channel generation unit (shared channel generation unit) 202performs adaptive control on the information data output from the higherlayer 201 to generate a data channel (shared channel) for the terminal102. Specifically, the data channel generation unit 202 performsprocesses such as a coding process for performing error correctioncoding, a scrambling process for applying a specific scrambling code tothe terminal 102, a modulation process for using a multi-levelmodulation scheme and so forth, and a layer mapping process forperforming spatial multiplexing such as MIMO.

The terminal-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 203 generatesterminal-specific reference signals specific to the terminal 102 (datachannel demodulation reference signal, terminal-specific control channeldemodulation reference signal, DM-RS (Demodulation Reference Signal),DRS (Dedicated Reference Signal), Precoded RS, user-specific referencesignal, UE-specific RS), and multiplexes the terminal-specific referencesignals to the data channel generated by the data channel generationunit 202.

The precoding unit 204 performs a precoding process specific to theterminal 102 on the data channel and terminal-specific reference signalsoutput from the terminal-specific reference signal multiplexing unit203. In the precoding process, preferably, phase rotation and so forthare performed on a signal to be generated so as to allow the terminal102 to efficiently receive the signal (for example, maximize the receivepower, reduce interference from neighboring cells, or reduceinterference with neighboring cells). In addition, processes that can beused include, but not limited to, processes based on predeterminedprecoding matrices, CDD (Cyclic Delay Diversity), and transmit diversity(such as SFBC (Spatial Frequency Block Code), STBC (Spatial Time BlockCode), TSTD (Time Switched Transmission Diversity), and FSTD (FrequencySwitched Transmission Diversity))). In a case where a plurality ofseparate types of PMIs are fed back, the precoding unit 204 performscomputation such as multiplication on the plurality of PMIs and canperform precoding.

The terminal-specific reference signals are implemented using signalswhich are known by both the base station 101 and the terminal 102. Thedata channel and the terminal-specific reference signals are subjectedto a precoding process specific to the terminal 102 by the precodingunit 204. Accordingly, when demodulating the data channel, the terminal102 can estimate the channel state in the downlink 103 and a channel forequalizing precoding weights used by the precoding unit 204, by usingthe terminal-specific reference signals. That is, the base station 101can demodulate the signals which have been subjected to the precodingprocess, without the need to notify the terminal 102 of the precodingweights used by the precoding unit 204. In a case where a controlchannel is to be mapped to the second control channel region, thecontrol channel is subjected to the precoding process by the basestation 101 in a manner similar to that for the data channel. Inaddition, the control channel is subjected to channel state estimationusing the terminal-specific reference signals, and is subjected to ademodulation process by the terminal 102 in a manner similar to that forthe data channel.

The cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205 generatescell-specific reference signals that are known by both the base station101 and the terminal 102 (channel state measurement reference signal,CRS (Common RS), Cell-specific RS, Non-precoded RS, cell-specificcontrol channel demodulation reference signal) to measure the channelstate of the downlink 103 between the base station 101 and the terminal102. The generated cell-specific reference signals are multiplexed tothe data channel and terminal-specific reference signals subjected tothe precoding process by the precoding unit 204.

The cell-specific reference signals may be any signal (sequence) as longas they are signals that are known by both the base station 101 and theterminal 102. The cell-specific reference signals may be implementedusing, for example, a random number and a pseudo-noise sequence based ona pre-assigned parameter such as a number (cell ID) specific to the basestation 101. A method for performing orthogonalization between antennaports, such as a method for setting a resource element to which achannel state measurement reference signal is mapped to null (zero)between the antenna ports, a method for performing code divisionmultiplexing using a pseudo-noise sequence, or a combination thereof,may be used. The channel state measurement reference signal may notnecessarily be multiplexed to all the sub-frames, but may be multiplexedto only some sub-frames.

The cell-specific reference signals are reference signals to bemultiplexed after the precoding process has been performed by theprecoding unit 204. Thus, the terminal 102 can measure the channel stateof the downlink 103 between the base station 101 and the terminal 102using the cell-specific reference signals, and can demodulate a signalthat has not yet been subjected to the precoding process by theprecoding unit 204.

The transmit signal generation unit 206 maps the signals output from thecell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205 to the respectiveresource elements of the antenna ports. Specifically, the transmitsignal generation unit 206 maps the data channel to a shared channel(PDSCH; Physical Downlink Shared Channel) region described below, andmaps the control channel to be transmitted through the second controlchannel region to the second control channel region. Further, whenmapping a control channel to a first control channel (PDCCH; PhysicalDownlink Control Channel) region described below, the transmit signalgeneration unit 206 multiplexes the control channel to the signalsoutput from the cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205.Here, the base station 101 can map control channels addressed to aplurality of terminals to the first control channel region or the secondcontrol channel region.

The transmission unit 207 performs processes, such as inverse fastFourier transform (IFFT), the addition of guard interval, and conversioninto radio frequencies, on the signals output from the transmit signalgeneration unit 206, and then transmits the resulting signals fromtransmit antennas, where the number of transmit antennas (the number oftransmit antenna ports) is at least one.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of theterminal 102 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.In FIG. 3, the terminal 102 includes a reception unit 301, a receptionsignal processing unit 302, a control channel processing unit 303, adata channel processing unit 304, and a higher layer 305.

The reception unit 301 receives signals transmitted from the basestation 101 using receive antennas, where the number of receive antennas(the number of receive antenna ports) is at least one. The receptionunit 301 performs a process for conversion from radio frequencies tobaseband signals, the removal of the added guard interval, and atime-frequency conversion process based on fast Fourier transform (FFT)or the like on the received signals.

The reception signal processing unit 302 de-maps (separates) the signalsmapped by the base station 101. Specifically, the reception signalprocessing unit 302 de-maps the first control channel or second controlchannel mapped to the first control channel region and/or the secondcontrol channel region, and the data channel mapped to the data channelregion.

The control channel processing unit 303 searches for and detects acontrol channel mapped to the first control channel region or the secondcontrol channel region and addressed to the terminal 102. The controlchannel processing unit 303 sets the first control channel region or thesecond control channel region as a control channel region in which thecontrol channel is searched for. The method for setting the controlchannel region is determined by whether the base station 101 sets thesecond control channel for the terminal 102 through terminal-specificsetting (configuration) information on (for) the second control channel,which is higher-layer control information (for example, RRC (RadioResource Control) signaling) of which the terminal 102 is notified.

That is, in a case where the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102of the terminal-specific setting information on the second controlchannel and thus sets (configures) the second control channel, theterminal 102 searches for and detects the control channel mapped to thesecond control channel and addressed to the terminal 102. In a casewhere the base station 101 does not notify the terminal 102 of theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel ordoes not set the second control channel, the terminal 102 searches(monitors) for and detects the control channel mapped to the firstcontrol channel and addressed to the terminal 102.

The control channel processing unit 303 uses the terminal-specificreference signals for the demodulation of the control channel mapped tothe second control channel region and addressed to the terminal 102. Thecontrol channel processing unit 303 uses the cell-specific referencesignals for the demodulation of the control channel mapped to the firstcontrol channel region and addressed to the terminal 102.

Further, the control channel processing unit 303 searches for andidentifies the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in the set(configured) control channel region. Specifically, the control channelprocessing unit 303 sequentially searches all or some of the controlchannel candidates obtained in accordance with the type of controlinformation, the position of the resource to be mapped, the size of theresource to be mapped, and so forth, by performing a demodulation anddecoding process. The control channel processing unit 303 determineswhether control information is the control information addressed to theterminal 102, by using error detection codes (for example, CRC (CyclicRedundancy Check) codes) added to the control information. This searchmethod is also called blind decoding.

The reception signal processing unit 302 identifies the detected controlchannel. As a result of the identification, if the de-mapped datachannel includes the data channel addressed to the terminal 102, thereception signal processing unit 302 outputs the data channel to thedata channel processing unit 304. A control information signal is sharedby the entire terminal 102 (also including the higher layer), and usedfor various kinds of control to be performed by the terminal 102, suchas the demodulation of the data channel.

The data channel processing unit 304 performs processes, such as achannel estimation process, a channel compensation process (filteringprocess), a layer de-mapping process, a demodulation process, adescrambling process, and a decoding process, on the input data channel,and outputs the result to the higher layer 305. In the channelestimation process, the data channel processing unit 304 estimates(channel estimation) amplitude and phase variations (frequency response,transfer function) in each resource element for each layer (rank,spatial multiplexing) in accordance with the terminal-specific referencesignals multiplexed to the input data channel to determine channelestimates. For a resource element to which no terminal-specificreference signals are mapped, the data channel processing unit 304performs channel estimation using interpolation in the frequencydirection and the time direction based on a resource element to which aterminal-specific reference signal is mapped. In the channelcompensation process, the data channel processing unit 304 performschannel compensation on the input data channel using the estimatedchannel estimates to detect (recover) the data channel for each layer.As the detection method, the data channel processing unit 304 can use ZF(Zero Forcing)-based or MMSE (Minimum Mean Square Error)-basedequalization, removal of interference, or the like. In the layerde-mapping process, the data channel processing unit 304 performs ade-mapping process on signals for individual layers to obtain therespective codewords. Subsequently, the data channel processing unit 304performs the process on a codeword-by-codeword basis. In thedemodulation process, the data channel processing unit 304 performsdemodulation based on the modulation scheme used. In the descramblingprocess, the data channel processing unit 304 performs descramblingbased on the scrambling codes used. In the decoding process, the datachannel processing unit 304 performs an error correction decodingprocess based on the coding method applied.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of one resource block pairthat the base station 101 maps. FIG. 4 illustrates two resource blocks(RBs; Resource Blocks, a resource block pair). Each resource block iscomposed of twelve subcarriers in the frequency direction, and sevenOFDM symbols in the time direction. Each subcarrier for a duration ofone OFDM symbol is called a resource element. The resource block pairsare arranged in the frequency direction, and the number of resourceblock pairs can be set for each base station. For example, the number ofresource block pairs can be set to 6 to 110. The width of the resourceblock pairs in the frequency direction is called a system bandwidth. Aresource block pair in the time direction is called a sub-frame. In eachsub-frame, consecutive sets of seven OFDM symbols in the time directionare each also called a slot. In the following description, resourceblock pairs are also referred to simply as resource blocks.

Among the resource elements shown shaded, R0 to R1 representcell-specific reference signals for antenna ports 0 to 1, respectively.The cell-specific reference signals illustrated in FIG. 4 are used inthe case of two antenna ports, the number of which can be changed. Forexample, cell-specific reference signals for one antenna port or fourantenna ports can be mapped. Cell-specific reference signals can be setfor up to four antenna ports (antenna ports 0 to 3).

Among the resource elements shown shaded, D1 to D2 representterminal-specific reference signals in CDM (Code Division Multiplexing)group 1 to CDM group 2, respectively. The terminal-specific referencesignals in CDM group 1 and CDM group 2 are each subjected to CDM usingorthogonal codes such as Walsh codes. The terminal-specific referencesignals in CDM group 1 and CDM group 2 are further mutually subjected toFDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing). The terminal-specific referencesignals can be mapped to up to rank 8 using eight antenna ports (antennaports 7 to 14) in accordance with the control channel or data channel tobe mapped to the resource block pair. In addition, the terminal-specificreference signals are configured such that the spreading code length forCDM or the number of resource elements to be mapped can be changed inaccordance with the rank for mapping.

For example, the terminal-specific reference signals for ranks 1 to 2are formed of spreading codes of 2-chip length for antenna ports 7 to 8,and are mapped to CDM group 1. The terminal-specific reference signalsfor ranks 3 to 4 are formed of spreading codes of 2-chip length forantenna ports 7 to 10, and are mapped to CDM group 1 (antenna ports 7 to8) and CDM group 2 (antenna ports 9 to 10). The terminal-specificreference signals for ranks 5 to 8 are formed of spreading codes of4-chip length for antenna ports 7 to 14, and are mapped to CDM group 1and CDM group 2.

In the terminal-specific reference signals, a scrambling code is furthersuperimposed on an orthogonal code on each antenna port. The scramblingcode is generated based on the cell ID and the scrambling ID which aresent from the base station 101. For example, a scrambling code isgenerated from a pseudo-noise sequence generated based on the cell IDand the scrambling ID which are sent from the base station 101. Thescrambling ID is, for example, a value representing 0 or 1. Thescrambling IDs and antenna ports to be used can also be subjected tojoint coding, and information indicating them can also be formed into anindex.

Among the resource elements shown shaded, the area composed of the topfirst to third OFDM symbols is set as an area where the first controlchannel is to be arranged. In addition, the number of OFDM symbols inthe area where the first control channel is to be arranged can be setfor each sub-frame. The resource elements in a solid white colorrepresent an area where the second control channel or the shared channelis to be arranged. The area where the second control channel or theshared channel is to be arranged can be set for each resource blockpair. The rank of the control channel to be mapped to the second controlchannel region or the data channel to be mapped to the shared channelregion can be set different from the rank of the control signal to bemapped to the first control channel.

The number of resource blocks can be changed in accordance with thefrequency bandwidth (system bandwidth) used in the communication system.For example, 6 to 110 resource blocks can be used, the unit of which isalso called a component carrier. A base station can further set aplurality of component carriers for a terminal by using frequencyaggregation. For example, a base station may set five component carrierscontiguous and/or non-contiguous in the frequency direction for aterminal, where the bandwidth of each component carrier is 20 MHz,thereby totaling a bandwidth of 100 MHz which can be supported by thecommunication system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of channels that the basestation 101 maps. In the case illustrated in FIG. 5, a frequencybandwidth of 12 resource block pairs is used as the system bandwidth.The first control channel, or PDCCH, is arranged in the top first tothird OFDM symbols in a sub-frame. The first control channel extendsover the system bandwidth in the frequency direction. The shared channelis arranged in the OFDM symbols other than the OFDM symbols for thefirst control channel in the sub-frame.

The details of the configuration of the PDCCH will now be described. ThePDCCH is composed of a plurality of control channel elements (CCEs). Thenumber of CCEs used in each downlink component carrier depends on thedownlink component carrier bandwidth, the number of OFDM symbolsconstituting the PDCCH, and the number of transmit ports for downlinkreference signals (cell-specific reference signal) which depends on thenumber of transmit antennas in the base station used for communication.Each CCE is composed of a plurality of downlink resource elements(resources each defined by one OFDM symbol and one subcarrier).

CCEs used between a base station and a terminal are assigned respectivenumbers to identify the CCEs. The numbering of the CCEs is based on apredetermined rule. Here, CCE_t denotes the CCE having the CCE number t.The PDCCH is constituted by an aggregation of a plurality of CCEs (CCEAggregation). The number of CCEs in this aggregation is referred to as“CCE aggregation level”. The CCE aggregation level in the PDCCH is setin the base station in accordance with a coding rate set for the PDCCHand the number of bits in a DCI included in the PDCCH. The combinationof CCE aggregation levels which can be possibly used for the terminal isdetermined in advance. An aggregation of n CCEs is referred to as “CCEaggregation level n”.

One resource element group is composed of four neighboring downlinkresource elements in the frequency domain. Each CCE is composed of ninedifferent resource element groups that are scattered in the frequencydomain and the time domain. Specifically, all the resource elementgroups assigned numbers for the entire downlink component carrier areinterleaved in units of resource element groups using a blockinterleaver, and nine resource element groups having contiguous numbers,which have been interleaved, constitute one CCE.

An area SS (Search Space) in which a PDCCH is searched for is set foreach terminal. Each SS is composed of a plurality of CCEs. Each SS isformed of a plurality of CCEs having contiguous numbers, starting fromthe CCE having the smallest number, and the number of CCEs havingcontiguous numbers is determined in advance. An SS for each CCEaggregation level is composed of an aggregate of a plurality of PDCCHcandidates. SSs are classified into a CSS (Cell-specific SS) for whichnumbers, starting from the number of the CCE having the smallest number,are common in a cell, and a USS (UE-specific SS) for which numbers,starting from the number of the CCE having the smallest number, areterminal-specific. In the CSS, a PDCCH to which control information tobe read by a plurality of terminals, such as system information orinformation concerning paging, is assigned, or a PDCCH to which adownlink/uplink grant indicating instructions for a fallback to alow-level transmit scheme or random access is assigned can be arranged.

A base station transmits a PDCCH using one or more CCEs in an SS set ina terminal. The terminal decodes a received signal using one or moreCCEs in the SS, and performs a process for detecting the PDCCH addressedto the terminal (referred to as blind decoding). The terminal setsdifferent SSs for the respective CCE aggregation levels. Thereafter, theterminal performs blind decoding using predetermined combinations ofCCEs in the different SSs for the respective CCE aggregation levels. Inother words, the terminal performs blind decoding on each of the PDCCHcandidates in the different SSs for the respective CCE aggregationlevels. The above-described series of processes performed by theterminal is referred to as PDCCH monitoring.

Second control channels (X-PDCCH, PDCCH on PDSCH, Extended PDCCH) to bemapped to the second control channel region are arranged in the OFDMsymbols other than the OFDM symbols for the first control channel. Thesecond control channel region and the shared channel region are arrangedin different resource blocks. Resource blocks in which the secondcontrol channel region and the shared channel region may be arranged areset for each terminal. The position where the OFDM symbols in which asecond control channel is to be arranged start can be determined using amethod similar to that for the shared channel. That is, the base station101 sets some resources in the first control channel as a PCFICH(Physical control format indicator channel), and maps informationindicating the number of OFDM symbols for the first control channel,thereby achieving the determination of the position where the OFDMsymbols in which the second control channel is to be arranged start.

The position where the OFDM symbols in which the second control channelregion is to be arranged start can be defined in advance, and can be setto, for example, the top fourth OFDM symbol in the sub-frame. In thiscase, if the number of OFDM symbols for the first control channel regionis less than or equal to 2, the second to third OFDM symbols in theresource block pair where the second control channel region is to bearranged are set to null without mapping a signal. Other controlchannels or data channels can further be mapped to the resources set tonull. The position where the OFDM symbols setting the second controlchannel region start can be set through higher-layer controlinformation. The sub-frame illustrated in FIG. 5 is time-multiplexed,and the second control channel region can be set for each sub-frame.

A base station and a terminal can configure an SS in which the terminalsearches for an X-PDCCH, using a plurality of CCEs in a manner similarto that for a PDCCH. That is, a base station and a terminal configure aresource element group from a plurality of resource elements in an areathat is set as an area for the second control channel illustrated inFIG. 5, and further configure a CCE from a plurality of resourceelements. Accordingly, a base station and a terminal can configure an SSin which the terminal searches for (monitors) an X-PDCCH in a mannersimilar to that in the case of the PDCCH described above.

Alternatively, a base station and a terminal can configure, unlike aPDCCH, an SS in which the terminal searches for an X-PDCCH, using one ormore resource blocks. That is, an SS may be composed of an aggregationof one or more resource blocks (RB Aggregation), in units of resourceblocks in an area that is set as the area for the second control channelillustrated in FIG. 5. The number of RBs included in this aggregation isreferred to as an “RB aggregation level”. An SS is composed of aplurality of RBs having contiguous numbers, starting from the RB havingthe smallest number, and the number of one or more RBs having contiguousnumbers is determined in advance. An SS for each RB aggregation level iscomposed of an aggregate of a plurality of X-PDCCH candidates.

A base station transmits an X-PDCCH using one or more RBs in an SS setin a terminal. The terminal decodes a received signal using one or moreRBs in the SS, and performs a process for detecting the X-PDCCHaddressed to the terminal (performs blind decoding). The terminal setsdifferent SSs for the respective RB aggregation levels. Thereafter, theterminal performs blind decoding using predetermined combinations of RBsin the different SSs for the respective RB aggregation levels. In otherwords, the terminal performs blind decoding on each of the X-PDCCHcandidates in the different SSs for the respective RB aggregation levels(monitors the X-PDCCH).

In a case where the base station 101 is to notify the terminal 102 of acontrol channel through the second control channel region, the basestation 101 sets the monitoring of the second control channel for theterminal 102, and then maps the control channel for the terminal 102 tothe second control channel region. In a case where the base station 101is to notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via the first controlchannel region, the base station 101 maps the control channel for theterminal 102 to the first control channel region without setting themonitoring of the second control channel for the terminal 102.

On the other hand, in a case where the monitoring of the second controlchannel is set by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performs blinddecoding of the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in thesecond control channel region. In a case where the monitoring of thesecond control channel is not set by the base station 101, the terminal102 does not perform blind decoding of the control channel addressed tothe terminal 102 in the second control channel.

Hereinafter, a description will be given of the control channel to bemapped to the second control channel region. The control channel to bemapped to the second control channel region is processed for each pieceof control information on one terminal, and is subjected to processessuch as, similarly to the data channel, a scrambling process, amodulation process, a layer mapping process, and a precoding process.The control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region issubjected to a precoding process specific to the terminal 102 togetherwith the terminal-specific reference signal. In this case, the precodingprocess is preferably performed with precoding weights suitable for theterminal 102.

In a case where an SS is composed of one or more resource blocks, thecontrol channel to be mapped to the second control channel region can bemapped so as to include different kinds of control information for thefront slot (first slot) and the rear slot (second slot) in a sub-frame.For example, a control channel including allocation information(downlink allocation information) for a downlink shared channel to betransmitted from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 is mapped tothe front slot in a sub-frame. A control channel including allocationinformation (uplink allocation information) for an uplink shared channelto be transmitted from the terminal 102 to the base station 101 ismapped to the rear slot in the sub-frame. A control channel includinguplink allocation information transmitted from the base station 101 tothe terminal 102 may be mapped to the front slot in a sub-frame, and acontrol channel including downlink allocation information transmittedfrom the terminal 102 to the base station 101 may be mapped to the rearslot in the sub-frame.

A data channel for the terminal 102 or any other terminal may be mappedto the front and/or rear slot for the second control channel. A controlchannel for the terminal 102 or a terminal for which the second controlchannel has been set (including the terminal 102) may be mapped to thefront and/or rear slot for the second control channel.

The base station 101 multiplexes the terminal-specific reference signalto the control channel to be mapped to the second control channelregion. The terminal 102 performs a demodulation process on the controlchannel to be mapped to the second control channel region, by using theterminal-specific reference signals to be multiplexed. Terminal-specificreference signals for some or all the antenna ports 7 to 14 are used. Inthis case, the control channel to be mapped to the second controlchannel region can be MIMO-transmitted using a plurality of antennaports.

For example, a terminal-specific reference signal in the second controlchannel region is transmitted using a predefined antenna port and ascrambling code. Specifically, a terminal-specific reference signal inthe second control channel region is generated using antenna port 7,which is defined in advance, and a scrambling ID.

For example, a terminal-specific reference signal in the second controlchannel region is generated using an antenna port and a scrambling IDwhich are sent via RRC signaling or PDCCH signaling. Specifically,either antenna port 7 or antenna port 8 is notified as the antenna portto be used for a terminal-specific reference signal in the secondcontrol channel region via RRC signaling or PDCCH signaling. Any valueof 0 to 3 is notified as the scrambling ID to be used for theterminal-specific reference signal in the second control channel regionvia RRC signaling or PDCCH signaling.

In the following, as an example of a method in which the base station101 sets the second control channel for the terminal 102 (a method forsetting the second control channel region and a method for setting themonitoring of the second control channel), the setting of the secondcontrol channel region and the setting of a transmission mode implicitlyindicate the setting of the monitoring of the second control channel.The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of terminal-specificsetting information for radio resources (RadioResourceConfigDedicated)through higher-layer control information, thereby setting the secondcontrol channel. The terminal-specific setting information for radioresources is control information used for the setting/change/release ofresource blocks, the terminal-specific settings for the physicalchannel, and so forth.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the flow for setting theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources. The basestation 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the terminal-specific settinginformation for radio resources. The terminal 102 performsterminal-specific setting for radio resources in accordance with theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources sent from thebase station 101, and then notifies the base station 101 of thecompletion of the setting of the terminal-specific setting informationfor radio resources.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the terminal-specificsetting information for radio resources. The terminal-specific settinginformation for radio resources includes terminal-specific settinginformation for the physical channel (PhysicalConfigDedicated). Theterminal-specific setting information for the physical channel iscontrol information for defining terminal-specific settings for thephysical channel. The terminal-specific setting information for thephysical channel includes setting information on channel state reports(CQI-ReportConfig), terminal-specific setting information on antennainformation (AntennaInfoDedicated), and terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel (XPDCCH-ConfigDedicated). Thesetting information on channel state reports is used to define settinginformation for reporting the channel state in the downlink 103. Theterminal-specific setting information on antenna information is used todefine terminal-specific antenna information in the base station 101.The terminal-specific setting information on the second control channelis used to define terminal-specific setting information on the secondcontrol channel.

The setting information on channel state reports includes settinginformation on aperiodic channel state reports(cqi-ReportModeAperiodic), and setting information on periodic channelstate reports (CQI-ReportPeriodic). The setting information on aperiodicchannel state reports is setting information for aperiodically reportingthe channel state in the downlink 103 via an uplink shared channel(PUSCH; Physical Uplink Shared Channel). The setting information of theperiodic channel state report is setting information for periodicallyreporting the channel state in the downlink 103 via an uplink controlchannel (PUCCH; Physical Uplink Control Channel).

The terminal-specific setting information on antenna informationincludes a transmission mode. The transmission mode is informationindicating a transmission method by which the base station 101communicates with the terminal 102. For example, the transmission modeis defined as any of transmission modes 1 to 10 in advance. Transmissionmode 1 is a transmission mode based on a single-antenna porttransmission scheme in which antenna port 0 is used. Transmission mode 2is a transmission mode based on a transmit diversity scheme.Transmission mode 3 is a transmission mode based on a cyclic delaydiversity scheme. Transmission mode 4 is a transmission mode based on aclosed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme. Transmission mode 5 is atransmission mode based on a multi-user MIMO scheme. Transmission mode 6is a transmission mode based on a closed-loop spatial multiplexingscheme in which a single antenna port is used. Transmission mode 7 is atransmission mode based on a single-antenna port transmission scheme inwhich antenna port 5 is used. Transmission mode 8 is a transmission modebased on a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme in which antennaports 7 to 8 are used. Transmission mode 9 is a transmission mode basedon a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme in which antenna ports 7 to14 are used. Transmission modes 1 to 9 are also referred to as firsttransmission modes.

Transmission mode 10 is defined as a transmission mode different fromtransmission modes 1 to 9. For example, transmission mode 10 can be atransmission mode based on a CoMP scheme. Here, extensions with theemployment of the CoMP scheme include the optimization of channel statereports, improvements in accuracy (for example, the employment ofinformation suitable for CoMP communication, such as precedinginformation and phase difference information between base stations), andso forth. Transmission mode 10 can also be a transmission mode based ona communication scheme which is an extended (enhanced) version of themulti-user MIMO scheme and which can be achieved using the communicationschemes specified in transmission modes 1 to 9. The extended version ofthe multi-user MIMO scheme includes the optimization of channel statereports and improvements in accuracy (for example, the employment ofinformation suitable for multi-user MIMO communication, such as CQI(Channel Quality Indicator) information), improvements in orthogonalitybetween terminals to be multiplexed to the same resource, and so forth.

Transmission mode 10 can also be a transmission mode based on a CoMPscheme and/or an extended multi-user MIMO scheme in addition to all orsome of the communication schemes specified in transmission modes 1 to9. For example, transmission mode 10 can be a transmission mode based ona CoMP scheme and/or an extended multi-user MIMO scheme in addition tothe communication scheme specified in transmission mode 9.Alternatively, transmission mode 10 can be a transmission mode in whicha plurality of channel state measurement reference signals (CSI-RS;Channel State Information-RS) can be set. Transmission mode 10 is alsoreferred to as a second transmission mode.

A base station can communicate with a terminal set to transmission mode10 in which a plurality of transmission schemes can be used, withoutnotifying the terminal of which of the plurality of transmission schemeswas used when transmitting the data channel. That is, when receiving thedata channel, the terminal can communicate with the base station withoutbeing notified of which of the plurality of transmission schemes wasused even if the terminal is set to transmission mode 10 in which aplurality of transmission schemes can be used.

The second transmission mode is a transmission mode in which the secondcontrol channel can be set. That is, in a case where the base station101 sets the first transmission mode for the terminal 102, the basestation 101 maps the control channel for the terminal 102 to the firstcontrol channel region. In a case where the base station 101 sets thesecond transmission mode for the terminal 102, the base station 101 mapsthe control channel for the terminal 102 to the first control channelregion or the second control channel region. On the other hand, in acase where the terminal 102 is set to the first transmission mode by thebase station 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding on the firstcontrol channel. In a case where the terminal 102 is set to the secondtransmission mode by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performsblind decoding on one of the first control channel and the secondcontrol channel.

In a case where the terminal 102 is set to (configured with) the secondtransmission mode, the terminal 102 switches (selects) the controlchannel to be subjected to blind decoding in accordance with whether theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel hasbeen set by the base station 101. That is, in a case where the terminal102 is set to the second transmission mode and the terminal-specificsetting information on the second control channel is set by the basestation 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the secondcontrol channel. In a case where the terminal 102 is set to the secondtransmission mode and the terminal-specific setting information on thesecond control channel is not set by the base station 101, the terminal102 performs blind decoding of the first control channel.

Furthermore, in a case where the terminal 102 is set to the secondtransmission mode and is further set to the first transmission mode bythe base station 101 after the terminal-specific setting information onthe second control channel has been set, the terminal 102 performs blinddecoding of the first control channel. In a case where the terminal 102is set to the second transmission mode and is further set to some or allthe first transmission modes by the base station 101 after theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel hasbeen set, the terminal 102 may perform blind decoding of the secondcontrol channel.

Transmission modes (second transmission mode) in which the secondcontrol channel can be set may include some or all the transmissionmodes in which the terminal-specific reference signals can be used. Thetransmission modes in which the second control channel can be set maybe, for example, transmission modes 8 to 10. Transmission modes (firsttransmission mode) in which only the first control channel can be setmay include some or all the transmission modes in which it is notpossible to use the terminal-specific reference signals. Thetransmission modes in which only the first control channel can be setmay be, for example, transmission modes 1 to 7.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the terminal-specificsetting information on the second control channel. The terminal-specificsetting information on the second control channel includes sub-framesetting information on the second control channel(XPDCCH-SubframeConfig-r11). The sub-frame setting information on thesecond control channel is used to define sub-frame information forsetting the second control channel. The sub-frame setting information onthe second control channel includes a sub-frame setting pattern(subframeConfigPattern-r11), and second control channel settinginformation (xpdcch-Config-r11).

The sub-frame setting pattern is information indicating a sub-frame inwhich the second control channel is to be set. For example, thesub-frame setting pattern is n-bit bitmap information. The informationcontained in each bit indicates whether the current sub-frame is asub-frame to be set as a second control channel. That is, in thesub-frame setting pattern, n sub-frames can be set as a period. In thiscase, certain sub-frames to which a synchronization signal, a broadcastchannel, and so forth are to be mapped can be excluded. Specifically,the remainder of dividing the sub-frame number defined in each sub-frameby n corresponds to each bit in the sub-frame setting pattern. Forexample, n is set in advance to a value such as 8 or 40. If theinformation for a certain sub-frame in the sub-frame setting pattern is“1”, this sub-frame is set as a second control channel. If theinformation for a certain sub-frame in the sub-frame setting pattern is“0”, this sub-frame is not set as a second control channel sub-frame. Inaddition, certain sub-frames to which a synchronization signal forsynchronizing the terminal 102 with the base station 101, a broadcastchannel for broadcasting control information on the base station 101,and so forth are to be mapped may be prevented from being set as asecond control channel in advance. In another example of the sub-framesetting pattern, a pattern of sub-frames to be set as a second controlchannel is formed as an index in advance, and information indicating theindex is defined as a sub-frame setting pattern.

The second control channel setting information includes resourceallocation type (resourceAllocationType-r11), resource allocationinformation (resourceBlockAssignment-r11), OFDM symbol start position(xpdcch-Start-r11), and response signal control information(pucch-Config-r11).

The resource allocation type is information indicating a format (type)of information specifying a resource block to be set as a second controlchannel in a sub-frame. The resource allocation information isinformation specifying a resource block to be set as a second controlchannel, and is defined based on the format of the resource allocationtype.

For example, the resource allocation type can define types 0 to 2. Ifthe resource allocation type is type 0, the resource allocationinformation is bitmap information that can be assigned to each resourceblock group defined in units of a plurality of contiguous resourceblocks. The number of resource blocks in a resource block group can bedefined in accordance with the system bandwidth. If the resourceallocation type is type 1, the resource allocation information is bitmapinformation that can be assigned to each resource block in a pluralityof resource block group subsets, where each resource block group subsetis defined in a plurality of subsets in units of resource block groups.The resource allocation information also includes information indicatinga selected resource block group subset. If the resource allocation typeis type 1, the resource allocation information is information indicatinga resource block with which allocation starts in contiguous resourceblocks, and information indicating the number of resource blocks to beallocated.

The OFDM symbol start position is information indicating the position ofthe OFDM symbol with which the second control channel starts in asub-frame. For example, the OFDM symbol start position indicates any of1 to 3. As in the description with reference to FIG. 5, the OFDM symbolstart position for the second control channel may be identified throughPCFICH. The OFDM symbol start position for the second control channelcan be defined in advance, in which case the OFDM symbol start positionmay not necessarily be notified.

The response signal control information is resource allocationinformation for the uplink control channel for giving notification of aresponse signal (for example, ACK (Acknowledge), NACK (Negative ACK), orthe like) indicating whether the terminal 102 has correctly received thedata channel specified in the control information sent via the secondcontrol channel.

As described above, in a case where the base station 101 is to set thesecond control channel, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102of the terminal-specific setting information for radio resources, whichincludes the terminal-specific setting information on the second controlchannel, via RRC signaling. Also, in a case where the base station 101is to change the set second control channel, the base station 101notifies the terminal 102 of the terminal-specific setting informationfor radio resources, which includes the terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel whose parameters have beenchanged, via RRC signaling. Also, in a case where the base station 101is to release the set second control channel, the base station 101notifies the terminal 102 via RRC signaling. For example, the basestation 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the terminal-specific settinginformation for radio resources, which does not include theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel.Alternatively, the base station 101 may notify the terminal 102 ofcontrol information for releasing the terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the flow for a process for receivingthe control channel and the data channel at the terminal 102. In stepS102, the terminal 102 receives terminal-specific setting informationfor radio resources via RRC signaling. In step S103, the terminal 102identifies the received terminal-specific setting information for radioresources, and performs a terminal-specific setting process for theradio resources. In step S104, the terminal 102 determines whether theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources includesterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel. Ifterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel isincluded, in step S106, the terminal 102 identifies theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel, andsets the second control channel. In step S107, the terminal 102 searchesfor (blind decoding) and detects the control channel addressed to theterminal 102 in the set second control channel region. On the otherhand, if terminal-specific setting information on the second controlchannel is not included, in step S105, the terminal 102 searches for(blind decoding) and detects the control channel addressed to theterminal 102 in the first control channel region set in advance. In stepS108, the terminal 102 identifies the detected control channel. In stepS108, if the terminal 102 has failed to detect the control channeladdressed to the terminal 102, the receiving process for the currentsub-frame ends. In step S109, the terminal 102 performs setting forreceiving the data channel in accordance with the detected controlchannel, and receives the data channel.

With the use of the method described above, the base station 101 canefficiently notify the terminal 102 of control information. That is, thebase station 101 can map the control channel for the terminal 102 to thefirst control channel region or the second control channel region.Accordingly, the base station 101 can perform efficient resourceallocation scheduling of the control channel of which a plurality ofterminals are notified. In addition, the terminal 102 can be mapped withthe control channel by the base station 101 via the first controlchannel region or the second control channel region. Accordingly, theterminal 102 can reduce the number of candidates in which the controlchannel is searched for, and can perform an efficient receiving process.

In the above example, a control channel for a terminal set to any oftransmission modes 1 to 10 can be mapped to the first control channelregion, and a control channel for a terminal set to transmission mode 10can be mapped to the second control channel region. That is, the basestation 101 can notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via thefirst control channel region regardless of the transmission mode to beset for the terminal 102. Furthermore, in a case where the base station101 is to set transmission mode 10 for the terminal 102, the basestation 101 can notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via thesecond control channel region. Accordingly, the base station 101 canperform resource allocation scheduling taking a communication schemeachievable with transmission mode 10 into account.

Particularly in transmission mode 10 in which the second control channelcan be set, the base station 101 can implement a CoMP communicationscheme, a multi-user MIMO communication scheme, and so forth for theterminal 102, and can thus perform resource allocation scheduling takingthese communication schemes into account. Since the first controlchannel can be set for all terminals, the base station 101 can maintainbackward compatibility with terminals for which transmission mode 10 isdifficult to set. The notification of the control channel via the firstcontrol channel region can be achieved without setting the secondcontrol channel, and therefore the overhead of the control informationin RRC signaling can be reduced.

The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the control channelwhile switching between only the first control channel to be used andthe second control channel to be used, and the terminal 102 switches thecontrol channel region in which the control channel is monitored (blinddecoding is performed) in accordance with the instruction of the basestation 101. More specifically, the base station 101 determines whetherthe second control channel region is to be used for the transmission ofthe control channel addressed to the terminal 102, and explicitly orimplicitly notifies the terminal. Further, the base station 101 sendsthe settings of the second control channel to the terminal throughsignaling. Upon being explicitly or implicitly notified of the use ofthe second control channel by the base station 101, the terminal 102monitors the second control channel in accordance with the settings ofthe second control channel. If the terminal 102 is not explicitly orimplicitly notified of the use of the second control channel by the basestation 101, the terminal 102 monitors only the first control channel.

The switching of the control channel is controlled in accordance with anexplicit or implicit notification from the base station 101 to theterminal 102 as to whether the second control channel is to be used. Inthe foregoing description, the description has been given of, but notlimited to, an example in which notification as to whether the secondcontrol channel is to be used is implicitly given in accordance with thetransmission mode sent from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 andcontrol information for setting the second control channel.

For example, an agreement that only the first control channel is used inthe first transmission mode and the second control channel can be usedin the second transmission mode is established in advance between thebase station 101 and the terminal 102. Further, the base station 101notifies the terminal 102 of the second control channel settinginformation. Then, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of atransmission mode, thereby implicitly notifying whether the secondcontrol channel is to be used. The base station 101 notifies theterminal 102 of second control channel region setting information, andthe terminal 102, which has been notified of the second transmissionmode, monitors the second control channel. The terminal 102, which hasbeen notified of the first transmission mode, monitors only the firstcontrol channel. That is, the control channel to be monitored by theterminal 102 is implicitly switched in accordance with the transmissionmode of which the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102.

In another example, an agreement that (i) only the first control channelis used in a case where the second control channel setting information(such as setting information on the second control channel region) isnot included even once in signaling such as RRC signaling or in a casewhere the second control channel setting information is not set in theterminal by releasing the second control channel setting information,and (ii) the second control channel can be used in a case where thesecond control channel setting information is notified through signalingand in a case where the second control channel setting information isset in the terminal is established in advance between the base station101 and the terminal 102. Then, the base station 101 implicitly notifiesthe terminal 102 of whether the second control channel is to be used,depending on whether the second control channel setting information isto be set through signaling from the base station 101 to the terminal102. In a case where the base station 101 sets the second controlchannel setting information in the terminal, the terminal 102 monitorsthe second control channel. In a case where the base station does notset the second control channel setting information in the terminal, theterminal 102 monitors only the first control channel without monitoringthe second control channel. That is, the control channel to be monitoredby the terminal 102 is implicitly switched in accordance with settinginformation for setting the second control channel, which is controlinformation of which the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102.

In still another example, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102of the second control channel region setting information. In addition,the base station 101 explicitly notifies the terminal 102 of settinginformation indicating whether the second control channel is to be used,through signaling such as RRC signaling. If the setting informationindicating whether the second control channel is to be used indicatesthat the second control channel is to be used, the terminal 102 monitorsthe second control channel. If the setting information indicatingwhether the second control channel is to be used from the base station101 to the terminal 102 indicates that the second control channel is notto be used, the terminal 102 monitors only the first control channel.The base station 101 and the terminal 102 may switch the control channelto be monitored by the terminal 102 in accordance with whether thesetting information indicating that the second control channel is to beused has been set.

In still another example, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102of the second control channel region setting information. The basestation 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the enabling/disabling of thesecond control channel through signaling such as physical controlinformation. In a case where the terminal 102 is notified of controlinformation indicating the enabling of the second control channel viathe first control channel, the terminal 102 starts the monitoring of thesecond control channel from the sub-frame for which the terminal 102 hasbeen notified of the enabling of the second control channel. In a casewhere the terminal is notified of disabling of the second controlchannel via the first control channel or the second control channel, theterminal stops the monitoring of the second control channel from thesub-frame subsequent to the sub-frame for which the terminal has beennotified of the disabling of the second control channel. Theenabling/disabling of the second control channel may be indicated byusing the code point in certain downlink control information (such asindicating that the second control channel is enabled in a case wherethe bit sequence in the control information format is a certain bitsequence), or by using masking with a certain code (such as indicatingthat the second control channel is enabled if it is masked with acertain code).

Accordingly, the terminal 102 can switch the control channel inaccordance with any explicit or implicit notification given by the basestation 101.

In this manner, according to a point of view, the base station 101 andthe terminal 102 switch between a physical control channel which can bearranged over an entire CC in OFDM symbols located in a front part of aphysical sub-frame, and a physical control channel which can be arrangedover part of a band in OFDM symbols located after this control channel.This allows the base station 101 to perform a resource allocationscheduling process on the control channel for the terminal 102 whiletaking the performance of the respective resources into account. Thatis, in cases such as when the initial access to a base station is madeby a terminal, when the number of terminals accommodated by a basestation is small and there is no shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH, orwhen discontinuous reception is ongoing, the terminal 102 uses aphysical control channel which may be arranged over an entire CC in OFDMsymbols located in a front part of a physical sub-frame, thus making itpossible to reduce receive power while randomizing inter-cellinterference. In addition, in cases such as when the number of terminalsaccommodated by a base station increases and there is a shortage of thecapacity of a PDCCH or when inter-cell interference is serious, theterminal 102 uses a physical control channel which may be arranged inpart of a band over OFDM symbols located after the above controlchannel, thereby preventing occurrence of interference.

To achieve the above advantages, there is no need for a limitation inwhich the first control channel is set to a physical control channelthat uses the same transmit port as that for a cell-specific referencesignal and the second control channel is set to a physical controlchannel that uses the same transmit port as that for a terminal-specificreference signal. Even in a case where the first control channel and thesecond control channel use the same transmit port, such as when both thefirst control channel and the second control channel use the sametransmit port as that for a cell-specific reference signal, the aboveadvantages are achieved as long as the respective control channels arearranged in different resources in the manner described above. Toachieve this advantage, furthermore, there is no need for a limitationin which the second control channel is a terminal-specific physicalcontrol channel. Even in a case where the second control channel is acell-specific physical control channel, such as when the second controlchannel setting information is broadcasted via a broadcast channel andis shared and used by a plurality of terminals accommodated by a basestation, the above advantages are achieved as long as the respectivecontrol channels are arranged in different resources in the mannerdescribed above.

In the foregoing description, by way of example, but not limitedthereto, in a case where the monitoring of the second control channel isset through signaling from the base station 101 to the terminal 102, theterminal 102 monitors the second control channel. For example, theterminal 102 sets the monitoring of the second control channel throughsignaling from the base station 101 to the terminal 102. In this case,the terminal 102 monitors, in addition to the second control channel inone sub-frame, the first control channel in the same sub-frame. That is,the terminal 102 searches for the first control channel in an SS inwhich the first control channel is searched for and searches for thesecond control channel in an SS in which the second control channel issearched for within one sub-frame.

In this case, various methods may be used as an example of the SSsetting method or the monitoring method. For example, a CSS and a USS(first USS) set in the first control channel region, and a USS (secondUSS) is set in the second control channel region. If the monitoring ofthe second control channel is set through signaling from the basestation 101 to the terminal 102, the terminal 102 searches for the firstcontrol channel in the CSS, and searches for the second control channelin the USS.

In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but notlimited to, the case where control information with which the basestation 101 sets the second control channel for the terminal 102 isinformation specific to the terminal 102. Control information with whichthe base station 101 sets the second control channel for the terminal102 may be information specific to the base station 101. For example,the base station 101 may broadcast control information for setting thesecond control channel to each terminal via a broadcast control channel(BCH; Broadcast Channel). Accordingly, the base station 101 can reducethe overhead of control information for setting the second controlchannel. In addition, the base station 101 may notify each terminal ofcontrol information for setting the second control channel, via RRCsignaling, as part of cell-specific setting information for radioresources (RadioResourceConfigCommon), which is information specific tothe base station 101. Accordingly, the base station 101 does not need toschedule the setting of the second control channel for each terminal,thereby reducing the load for scheduling processing.

In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but notlimited to, a method for switching the control channel to be subjectedto blind decoding by the terminal 102 in accordance with whether thebase station 101 is to set the terminal-specific setting information onthe second control channel for the terminal 102. For example, the basestation 101 may notify the terminal 102 of information indicatingwhether the second control channel is to be set, via RRC signaling orPDCCH. In this case, control information for setting the second controlchannel may be broadcasted via a broadcast control channel. In addition,the base station 101 may notify each terminal of control information forsetting the second control channel, via RRC signaling, as part ofcell-specific setting information for radio resources, which isinformation specific to the base station 101. Accordingly, the basestation 101 can perform efficient setting of the terminal 102.

In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but notlimited to, a method for switching the control channel to be subjectedto blind decoding by the terminal 102 in accordance with whether thebase station 101 is to set the terminal-specific setting information onthe second control channel for the terminal 102. For example, the basestation 101 may set, for each sub-frame, whether the second controlchannel is to be set, and may notify the terminal 102 of bitmapinformation indicating the setting via RRC signaling or PDCCH. In thiscase, control information for setting the second control channel may bebroadcasted via a broadcast control channel. In addition, the basestation 101 may notify each terminal of control information for settingthe second control channel, via RRC signaling, as part of cell-specificsetting information for radio resources, which is information specificto the base station 101. Accordingly, the base station 101 can performefficient setting of the terminal 102. The base station 101 can alsoperform efficient scheduling for the terminal 102.

Furthermore, in a case where the base station 101 sets for eachsub-frame, using bitmap information, whether the second control channelis to be set, the setting for each sub-frame may be determined based onthe setting of ABS (Almost Blank Subframe) in the base station 101 orany other base station. For example, in a sub-frame for the base station101 that is transmitted simultaneously with a sub-frame that has beenset to an ABS by a base station neighboring the base station 101, thebase station 101 sets the first control channel for the terminal 102. Ina sub-frame for the base station 101 that is transmitted simultaneouslywith a sub-frame that is not set to an ABS by a base station neighboringthe base station 101, the base station 101 sets the second controlchannel for the terminal 102. An ABS is a sub-frame that is transmittedwith reduced transmit power (including no transmission) with respect tochannels including the shared channel, the first control channel, and/orthe second control channel. The use of an ABS can reduce interferencewith a terminal that performs data communication with a base stationneighboring a base station that has set an ABS. Therefore, interferencecoordination between base stations (ICIC; Inter-cell interferencecoordination) can be achieved.

Furthermore, the terminal 102 may select a control channel to besubjected to blind decoding, in accordance with a resource-restrictedmeasurement pattern of which the base station 101 notifies the terminal102. For example, the resource-restricted measurement pattern representsinformation on restricted measurement of RRM (Radio ResourceManagement)/RLM (Radio Link Control) in a serving cell, information onrestricted measurement of RRM in neighboring base stations, andinformation on restricted measurement of CSI (Channel State Information)in a serving cell. In particular, the information on restrictedmeasurement of CSI (Channel State Information) in a serving cell is setas two sub-frame subsets for the terminal 102. The terminal 102 measuresthe channel state in the sub-frames identified by the sub-frame subsets,and performs periodic or aperiodic reporting. The terminal 102 mayfurther select a control channel to be subjected to blind decoding, inaccordance with the sub-frame subsets. For example, the terminal 102performs blind decoding of the first control channel in the sub-framesidentified by one of the sub-frame subsets. The terminal 102 alsoperforms blind decoding of the second control channel in the sub-framesidentified by the other sub-frame subset. Links between the twosub-frame subsets and the two control channels may be defined inadvance, or may be set by RRC signaling. In a case where the secondcontrol channel has not yet been set by the base station 101 in asub-frame indicating the blind decoding of the second control channel,the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the first control channel.

[Second Embodiment]

A second embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinafter. Similarly to the communication system according to thefirst embodiment, a communication system according to the secondembodiment includes a base station 101 and a terminal 102. The followingdescription will focus on a portion different from the first embodimentof the present invention.

In the communication system according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention, the base station 101 has a plurality of cells, and iscapable of setting a serving cell in which the base station 101 performsdata communication with the terminal 102 through carrier aggregation,where each cell is also called a component carrier (CC) and is capableof setting a specific cell ID.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frequency arrangementfor cells with carrier aggregation according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention. In the case illustrated in FIG. 10, the basestation 101 can perform carrier aggregation using three cells (CCs,component carriers). In this case, cells with carrier aggregation can bearranged contiguously and/or non-contiguously in the frequencydirection, and the respective system bandwidths of the cells can be setdifferent.

In addition, in a case where the base station 101 is to set carrieraggregation for the terminal 102, the base station 101 can set a servingcell (serving CC) to be specific to the terminal 102. In this case, thebase station 101 can set one primary cell (PCC, primary CC, PCell) andone or more secondary cells (SCCs, secondary CCs, SCells) for theterminal 102 as serving cells.

The primary cell is a cell in which the terminal 102 performs datacommunication at a primary frequency, and implements an initial setupprocess or a re-connection process with the base station 101. Theprimary cell is a cell identified as a primary cell in a handoverprocess from other cells (base stations, CCs). The primary cell can bechanged through the handover process. The primary cell is used for thetransmission of an uplink control channel (PUCCH).

The secondary cell is a cell in which the terminal 102 performs datacommunication at a secondary frequency, and can be set (also includingaddition/release/change) via RRC signaling. For example, the secondarycell can be set at the time when RRC connection is established, and canbe used to provide additional radio resources.

In addition, the secondary cell set using RRC signaling can be set toactivation (valid) or deactivation (invalid). Activation or deactivationin the secondary cell is set to reduce battery consumption in theterminal 102. The terminal 102 does not receive (does not monitor) someor all channels in the secondary cell which is set to deactivation. Thesetting of activation or deactivation in the secondary cell is performedwith a timer for the signaling of the MAC (Media Access Control) layer(MAC signaling) and deactivation. That is, the terminal 102 is notifiedof bitmap information indicating activation or deactivation for eachsecondary cell via MAC signaling. If the secondary cell is set toactivation, the terminal 102 activates the secondary cell. In a casewhere the terminal 102 does not receive any control channel and/or datachannel by the time designated by the timer for deactivation after thesecondary cell is set to deactivation, the terminal 102 deactivates thesecondary cell. In a case where the terminal 102 receives a controlchannel and/or a data channel by the time designated by the timer fordeactivation after the secondary cell is deactivated, the terminal 102activates the secondary cell.

For example, in the example in FIG. 10, the base station 101 sets cell 2as the primary cell and cell 3 as the secondary cell for the terminal102. The base station 101 is also capable of setting a second controlchannel on a cell-by-cell basis for the terminal 102.

In a case where a second control channel is set for the primary cell bythe base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors the second controlchannel in the primary cell. In a case where no second control channelis set for the primary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102monitors the first control channel in the primary cell. In a case wherethe secondary cell is activated and a second control channel is set forthe secondary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitorsthe second control channel in the secondary cell. In a case where thesecondary cell is activated and no second control channel is set for thesecondary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors thefirst control channel in the secondary cell.

Furthermore, in a case where the secondary cell is set to deactivation,the terminal 102 performs a process based on a predefined method or themethod of which the terminal 102 is notified by the base station 101.For example, in a case where the secondary cell is set to deactivation,the terminal 102 does not monitor the first control channel and thesecond control channel in the secondary cell regardless of whether asecond control channel has been set. Thus, the terminal 102 can reducemonitoring processing for control channels. In another example, in acase where the secondary cell is set to deactivation, the terminal 102does not monitor the second control channel in the secondary cellregardless of whether a second control channel has been set. Thus, thebase station 101 can notify the terminal 102 of control informationthrough the secondary cell. In another example, furthermore, in a casewhere the secondary cell is set to deactivation and a second controlchannel has been set, the terminal 102 monitors the second controlchannel in the secondary cell. Thus, the base station 101 can notify theterminal 102 of control information through the secondary cell.

In addition, switching as to whether the terminal 102 is to monitor thefirst control channel or is to monitor the second control channel ineach cell can be made by applying the method described in the firstembodiment of the present invention. That is, as described in the firstembodiment of the present invention, the switching of control channelsat the terminal 102 is controlled in accordance with an explicit orimplicit notification from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 asto whether the second control channel is used.

The cell for which the base station 101 can set a second control channelfor the terminal 102 may be defined in advance as a primary cell. Inthis case, control information for setting the second control channelmay be implemented using the terminal-specific setting information forradio resources illustrated in FIG. 8. In a case where the cell forwhich a second control channel can be set is defined in advance as aprimary cell, the terminal 102 sets control information on the secondcontrol channel, which is notified by the base station 101, for theprimary cell.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources. In the caseillustrated in FIG. 11, the base station 101 sets carrier aggregation inthe terminal 102, and sets a second control channel individually for theprimary cell and the secondary cell in the terminal 102. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 11, the terminal-specific setting information forradio resources includes, in addition to the terminal-specific settinginformation for the physical channel described in the first embodiment,terminal-specific setting information for the physical channel in thesecondary cell (PhysicalConfigDedicatedSCell-r11). The terminal-specificsetting information for radio resources in FIG. 11 can be theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources in the primarycell.

The terminal-specific setting information for the physical channel iscontrol information for defining terminal-specific settings for thephysical channel in the primary cell. The terminal-specific settinginformation for the physical channel in the secondary cell is controlinformation for defining terminal-specific settings for the physicalchannel in the secondary cell. The terminal-specific setting informationfor the physical channel and the terminal-specific setting informationfor the physical channel in the secondary cell each includeterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel.

The terminal-specific setting information on the second control channelin FIG. 11 is similar to the terminal-specific setting information onthe second control channel described with reference to FIG. 8, and canbe independently set for the primary cell and the secondary cell. Thesecond control channel can be set for either the primary cell or thesecondary cell. In this case, the terminal-specific setting informationon the second control channel is set for only the cell in which thesecond control channel is set.

With the use of the method illustrated in FIG. 11, the base station 101can efficiently set a second control channel in the primary cell and thesecondary cell for the terminal 102. In addition, since theterminal-specific setting information for the physical channel in eachcell, which includes the terminal-specific setting information on thesecond control channel, is included in the terminal-specific settinginformation for radio resources, the base station 101 can performadaptive setting for the terminal 102 in accordance with the channelstate of the downlink or the state of the base station 101.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of theterminal-specific setting information for radio resources. In the caseillustrated in FIG. 12, the base station 101 sets carrier aggregation inthe terminal 102, and sets a second control channel individually for theprimary cell and the secondary cell in the terminal 102. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 12, the terminal-specific setting information forradio resources includes terminal-specific setting information for thephysical channel. The terminal-specific setting information for thephysical channel includes, in addition to the terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel described in the firstembodiment, terminal-specific setting information on the second controlchannel in the secondary cell (XPDCCH-ConfigDedicatedSCell-r11). Theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel inFIG. 12 can be the terminal-specific setting information on the secondcontrol channel in the primary cell.

The terminal-specific setting information on the second control channelis used to define terminal-specific setting information on the secondcontrol channel in the primary cell. The terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel in the secondary cell is usedto define terminal-specific setting information on the second controlchannel in the secondary cell. The terminal-specific setting informationon the second control channel and the terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel in the secondary cell eachinclude sub-frame setting information on the second control channel.

The sub-frame setting information on the second control channel in FIG.12 is similar to the sub-frame setting information on the second controlchannel described in FIG. 8, and can be independently set for theprimary cell and the secondary cell. The second control channel can beset for either the primary cell or the secondary cell. In this case, theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel orthe sub-frame setting information on the second control channel is setfor only the cell in which the second control channel is set.

With the use of the method illustrated in FIG. 12, the base station 101can efficiently set a second control channel in the primary cell and thesecondary cell for the terminal 102. In addition, since theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel ineach cell is included in the terminal-specific setting information forthe physical channel, the base station 101 can perform adaptive settingfor the terminal 102 in accordance with the channel state of thedownlink or the state of the base station 101 while reducing theoverhead of the control information for the terminal 102.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel. Inthe following description, the description will be given of a differencefrom the terminal-specific setting information on the second controlchannel described in FIG. 8. The sub-frame setting information on thesecond control channel included in the terminal-specific settinginformation on the second control channel further includes an assignedcell ID (schedulingCellId-r11).

The assigned cell ID is information indicating a cell in which thesecond control channel is set with the sub-frame setting information onthe second control channel. The assigned cell ID is selected from amongthe serving cell set in the terminal 102 or a cell that can be set ascarrier aggregation by the base station 101. For the assigned cell ID,one or a plurality of cells can be set. In a case where a plurality ofassigned cell IDs are set, part or all of the sub-frame settinginformation on the second control channel can be setting informationcommon to the respective cells. In a case where a plurality of assignedcell IDs are set, furthermore, the sub-frame setting information on thesecond control channel can be set individually the respective cells.

Furthermore, in a case where the cell identified by the assigned cell IDindicates a secondary cell and this secondary cell is set todeactivation, the terminal 102 performs a process based on a predefinedmethod or the method notified by the base station 101. For example, theterminal 102 does not monitor the first control channel and the secondcontrol channel in the secondary cell regardless of the notifiedsub-frame setting information on the second control channel. Thus, theterminal 102 can reduce monitoring processing for control channels. Inanother example, the terminal 102 monitors either the first controlchannel or the second control channel in the secondary cell regardlessof the setting of deactivation for the secondary cell. Thus, the basestation 101 can notify the terminal 102 of control information throughthe secondary cell.

The terminal-specific setting information on the second control channelillustrated in FIG. 13 can be notified and set as control informationfor the primary cell and/or the secondary cell. In a case where theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channelillustrated in FIG. 13 is notified from only one cell, theterminal-specific setting information on the second control channel ispreferably notified and set as control information for the primary cell.

With the use of the method illustrated in FIG. 13, the base station 101can efficiently set a second control channel in the primary cell and thesecondary cell for the terminal 102. In addition, since the sub-framesetting information on the second control channel is set so as toinclude the assigned cell ID, the base station 101 can perform adaptivesetting for the terminal 102 in accordance with the channel state of thedownlink or the state of the base station 101 while reducing theoverhead of the control information for the terminal 102.

With the use of the methods described above, in addition to theadvantages described in the first embodiment of the present invention,the base station 101 can efficiently set carrier aggregation for theterminal 102, and can efficiently set a second control channel in theprimary cell and/or the secondary cell.

In the foregoing description, by way of example, but not limitedthereto, in a case where the control information described in the firstembodiment of the present invention is set and a second control channelis to be set for the secondary cell, control information for the primarycell is set by further adding the control information for the secondarycell described in the first embodiment of the present invention. Thatis, in order to set a second control channel for the primary cell andthe secondary cell, control information for the respective cells may beset.

In the foregoing embodiments, by way of example, but not limitedthereto, a resource element or a resource block is used as the unit ofmapping a data channel, a control channel, a PDSCH, a PDCCH, and areference signal, and a sub-frame or a radio frame is used as the unitof transmission in the time direction. Similar advantages can beachieved with the use of the domain composed of any desired frequencyand time and the time unit instead of them. In the foregoingembodiments, the description has been given of, but not limited to, thecase where demodulation is carried out using an RS subjected to aprecoding process, and a port equivalent to the layer of MIMO is used asthe port corresponding to the RS subjected to the precoding process.Similar advantages can be achieved by applying the present invention toports corresponding to different reference signals. For example, inplace of a Precoded RS, an Unprecoded RS may be used, and a port that isequivalent to a port or physical antenna (or a combination of physicalantennas) that is equivalent to the output edge after the precodingprocess has been performed may be used as a port.

A program operating in the base station 101 and the terminal 102according to the present invention is a program (a program for causing acomputer to function) for controlling a CPU and so forth so as toimplement the functions of the foregoing embodiments according to thepresent invention. Such information as handled by devices is temporarilyaccumulated in a RAM while processed, and is then stored in various ROMsand HDDs. The information is read by the CPU, if necessary, formodification/writing. A recording medium having the program storedtherein may be any of semiconductor media (for example, a ROM, anon-volatile memory card, etc.), optical recording media (for example, aDVD, an MO, an MD, a CD, a BD, etc.), magnetic recording media (forexample, a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, etc.), and so forth.Furthermore, in addition to the implementation of the functions of theembodiments described above by executing the loaded program, thefunctions of the present invention may be implemented by processing theprogram in cooperation with an operating system, any other applicationprogram, or the like in accordance with instructions of the program.

In a case where the program is distributed to be usable on market, theprogram may be stored in a transportable recording medium fordistribution, or may be transferred to a server computer connected via anetwork such as the Internet. In this case, a storage device in theserver computer is also encompassed in the present invention. Inaddition, part or the entirety of the base station 101 and the terminal102 in the embodiments described above may be implemented as an LSI,which is typically an integrated circuit. The respective functionalblocks of the base station 101 and the terminal 102 may be individuallybuilt into chips, or some or all of them may be integrated and builtinto a chip. The method for forming an integrated circuit is not limitedto LSI, and may be implemented by a dedicated circuit or ageneral-purpose processor. In the case of the advent of integratedcircuit technology replacing LSI due to the advancement of semiconductortechnology, it is also possible to use an integrated circuit based onthis technology.

While embodiments of this invention have been described in detail withreference to the drawings, a specific configuration is not limited tothese embodiments, and the invention also includes design changes andthe like without departing from the essence of this invention. Inaddition, a variety of changes can be made to the present inventionwithin the scope defined by the claims, and embodiments that areachieved by appropriately combining respective technical means disclosedin different embodiments are also embraced within the technical scope ofthe present invention. Furthermore, a configuration in which theelements described in the foregoing embodiments and capable of achievingsimilar advantages are interchanged is also embraced within thetechnical scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is suitable for use in a wireless base stationdevice, a wireless terminal device, a radio communication system, and aradio communication method.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

101, 1401 base station, 102, 1402, 1403, 1504 terminal, 103, 1404, 1405,1505, 1506 downlink, 201, 305 higher layer, 202 data channel generationunit, 203 terminal-specific reference signal multiplexing unit, 204precoding unit, 205 cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit,206 transmit signal generation unit, 207 transmission unit, 301reception unit, 302 reception signal processing unit, 303 controlchannel processing unit, 304 data channel processing unit, 1501 macrobase station, 1502 RRH, 1503 line.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A base station configured to communicatewith a terminal in a cell using a sub-frame including a plurality ofresource block pairs, the base station comprising: a control informationgenerator configured to generate control information for the terminal;and a transmitter configured to transmit the control information on asecond control channel mapped to a second control channel regionconfigured to be different from a first control channel region to whicha first control channel is mapped, wherein the first control channelregion is a region specific to the cell in the sub-frame; the secondcontrol channel region is a region configured to be specific to theterminal in the sub-frame; the terminal is configured with monitoring ofthe second control channel individually on a cell-by-cell basis; andsub-frames in which the terminal monitors the second control channel areindicated by the base station apparatus using a bitmap in a radioresource control signaling, the sub-frames being units in time domain,wherein the second control channel is transmitted using a second antennaport different from a first antenna port used for transmission of thefirst control channel, the first antenna port is an antenna port usedfor transmission of a cell-specific reference signal that is a referencesignal specific to the cell, the second antenna port is an antenna portused for transmission of a demodulation reference signal that isassociated with the second control channel, a sequence for thedemodulation reference signal is generated based on a cell ID and ascrambling ID, the cell ID is sent by the base station, and thescrambling ID is a pre-defined value.
 2. The base station according toclaim 1, wherein the first control channel region is a region assignedbased on a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel in the sub-frame,and the second control channel region is a region extending over OFDMsymbols from a first OFDM symbol to a second OFDM symbol, the first OFDMsymbol being identified by a starting OFDM symbol and the second OFDMsymbol being the last OFDM symbol in the sub-frame.
 3. The base stationaccording to claim 2, wherein the starting OFDM symbol is configured inthe terminal through Radio Resource Control signaling.
 4. The basestation according to claim 2, wherein the starting OFDM symbol isdetermined based on the Physical Control Format Indicator Channel. 5.The base station according to claim 1, wherein the second controlchannel and a shared channel for the terminal are arranged in differentresource block pairs.
 6. A base station configured to communicate with aterminal in a cell using a sub-frame including a plurality of resourceblock pairs, the base station comprising: a control informationgenerator configured to generate control information for the terminal;and a transmitter configured to transmit the control information on afirst control channel mapped to a first control channel region or on asecond control channel mapped to a second control channel region,wherein in a case where the terminal is not configured with monitoringof the second control channel, the control information for the terminalis transmitted on the first control channel; in a case where theterminal is configured with the monitoring of the second controlchannel, the control information for the terminal is transmitted on thefirst control channel or the second control channel; the first controlchannel region is a region specific to the cell in the sub-frame, andthe second control channel region is a region configured to be specificto the terminal in the sub-frame; the terminal is configured withmonitoring of the second control channel individually on a cell-by-cellbasis; and sub-frames in which the terminal monitors the second controlchannel are indicated by the base station apparatus using a bitmap in aradio resource control signaling, the sub-frames being units in timedomain, wherein the second control channel is transmitted using a secondantenna port different from a first antenna port used for transmissionof the first control channel, the first antenna port is an antenna portused for transmission of a cell-specific reference signal that is areference signal specific to the cell, the second antenna port is anantenna port used for transmission of a demodulation reference signalthat is associated with the second control channel, a sequence for thedemodulation reference signal is generated based on a cell ID and ascrambling ID, the cell ID is sent by the base station, and thescrambling ID is a pre-defined value.
 7. A terminal configured tocommunicate with a base station in a cell using a sub-frame including aplurality of resource block pairs, the terminal comprising: a receiverconfigured to monitor a second control channel mapped to a secondcontrol channel region configured to be different from a first controlchannel region to which a first control channel is mapped; and a controlinformation processor configured to process control information for theterminal that is transmitted on the second control channel, wherein thefirst control channel region is a region specific to the cell in thesub-frame; the second control channel region is a region configured tobe specific to the terminal in the sub-frame; the terminal is configuredwith monitoring of the second control channel individually on acell-by-cell basis; and sub-frames in which the terminal monitors thesecond control channel are indicated by the base station apparatus usinga bitmap in a radio resource control signaling, the sub-frames beingunits in time domain, wherein the second control channel is transmittedusing a second antenna port different from a first antenna port used fortransmission of the first control channel, the first antenna port is anantenna port used for transmission of a cell-specific reference signalthat is a reference signal specific to the cell, the second antenna portis an antenna port used for transmission of a demodulation referencesignal that is associated with the second control channel, a sequencefor the demodulation reference signal is generated based on a cell IDand a scrambling ID, the cell ID is sent by the base station, and thescrambling ID is a pre-defined value.
 8. The terminal according to claim7, wherein the first control channel region is a region assigned basedon a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel in the sub-frame, and thesecond control channel region is a region extending over OFDM symbolsfrom a first OFDM symbol to a second OFDM symbol, the first OFDM symbolbeing identified by a starting OFDM symbol and the second OFDM symbolbeing the last OFDM symbol in the sub-frame.
 9. The terminal accordingto claim 8, wherein the starting OFDM symbol is configured in theterminal through Radio Resource Control signaling.
 10. The terminalaccording to claim 8, wherein the starting OFDM symbol is determinedbased on the Physical Control Format Indicator Channel.
 11. The terminalaccording to claim 7, wherein the second control channel and a sharedchannel for the terminal are arranged in different resource block pairs.12. A terminal configured to communicate with a base station in a cellusing a sub-frame including a plurality of resource block pairs, theterminal comprising: a receiver configured to monitor a candidate of afirst control channel or a candidate of a second control channel, thefirst control channel being mapped to a first control channel region andthe second control channel being mapped to a second control channelregion; and a control information processor configured to processcontrol information for the terminal that is transmitted on the firstcontrol channel or on the second control channel, wherein in a casewhere the terminal is not configured with monitoring of the secondcontrol channel, the receiver configured to monitor the candidate of thefirst control channel, and the control information processor isconfigured to process the control information for the terminal; in acase where the terminal is configured with the monitoring of the secondcontrol channel, the receiver configured to monitor the candidate of thefirst control channel and the candidate of the second control channel,and the control information processor is configured to process thecontrol information for the terminal; the first control channel regionis a region specific to the cell in the sub-frame, and the secondcontrol channel region is a region configured to be specific to theterminal in the sub-frame; the terminal is configured with monitoring ofthe second control channel individually on a cell-by-cell basis; andsub-frames in which the terminal monitors the second control channel areindicated by the base station apparatus using a bitmap in a radioresource control signaling, the sub-frames being units in time domain,wherein the second control channel is transmitted using a second antennaport different from a first antenna port used for transmission of thefirst control channel, the first antenna port is an antenna port usedfor transmission of a cell-specific reference signal that is a referencesignal specific to the cell, the second antenna port is an antenna portused for transmission of a demodulation reference signal that isassociated with the second control channel, a sequence for thedemodulation reference signal is generated based on a cell ID and ascrambling ID, the cell ID is sent by the base station, and thescrambling ID is a pre-defined value.